Thursday, 29 November 2012

The skills of the modern photographer are always increasing, HD DSLR video is being asked for more and more by clients.The push for knowledge should be surpassed by the time and effort honing the skills need to overcome the problems you will face out in the field, get the skills then practise and develop them to suit the needs of your clients.The workshops I run allow me the time to sit with photographers keen to improve what they are doing either for their personal pleasure or commercially.

My next workshop is in London, two day's of discussion and practical sessions, the subject producing HD video using your DSLR.

So a quick kit bag repack is in order after two days of model testing.Enjoy your weekend.

Saturday, 24 November 2012

Enhance your video with Photoshop did I say that right... oh yes.Since CS5 PS has been ideal for me working with video projects.

My workflow with stills and video both are the same, all colour grading takes place in Photoshop, PS is used entirely with my stills workflow and this familiarity together with the presets I have created for that work transfer straight over.One feature I do like in my video editing software is that all the layers in the PSD files remain fully editable. The PSD files can be modified outside the video editing software in PS with the video project open, with a simple refresh the updated PSD file is copied into in my video editing software.

Making video on your DSLR can be quite demanding, with reduced flexibility certain situations dictate you are likely to be working with a higher ISO than you would normally choose to go to.Yikes yes that means coming to terms you won't be able to shoot at 200 ISO 8:)

Those new to making video on a DSLR are often suprised when we go through the go to settings.Also equally amusing are some of the settings people have been working and struggling with.

The thing is we have all been there.I find it really rewarding seeing the fast progress, having taken some time out to get the basics covered and enforcing this new knowledge with some practical shooting.

Thursday, 15 November 2012

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

This was his first test shoot, the images were for his mother agency and also a London model agency who are looking to represent him.Styling and shooting for both agency's no big deal when you know exactly what each is looking for.

For shoots on the move or for those wishing to explore flash photography the compact portable and advanced systems from Canon and Nikon are perfect.

Packed with advanced features working with ambient light or by itself at up to 1/8000 sec is a must for me in my workflow, perfect when wanting to work with a wide aperture or freezing any fast motion .Also worth noting in low light is the rear curtain sync function, which if set to manual mode can work with your studio lighting to create great images where you can freeze the action at the end of your exposure.Whether you decide to let the camera and flash between them to decide the amount of light required (ETTL) or go full manual mode this is up to you.

Master off camera flash and the options available to you are almost limitless.

Friday, 9 November 2012

Created for this models profile, the video shows Rob moving, this kind of video is increasing being requested by model agency in addition to images.A separate video has been produced showing the model walking, that video is for fashion show clients.

The small flash systems offered by the likes of Canon and Nikon should be in every photographers kit bag.Often they are under used, I suspect because their full potential hasn't been explored.I was lucky enough to spend five days in Venice Italy with one of the world's highly respected users of the small strobe Joe McNally. Joe is a photography who routinely works with high end clients delivering demanding assignment's in extreme conditions.

Joe's first published book "The Moment it Clicks" explores the story and settings behind some of his best known images. it is a well written and produced book, I highly recommend it.

Big lighting systems are often the preferred choice, but when you want a quick setup with minimal fuss the small lights really are hard to beat. Their portability and extended functionality out perform studio lights in a lot of conditions.The small strobes for me are the perfect partner to studio lights, get into the functions of the small lights and your on your way to better images and extended creativity.

Thursday, 8 November 2012

I was with the Canon people yesterday, got my hands on the NEW Canon 6D.First impressions are its nice and light noticeably lighter then the 5Dmk2/3, which often gets comments back from female clients about.... being heavy.I am liking the Wi-Fi features that are inbuilt, a costly add on for all other pro camera's, also built in is GPS, so you can track where and when you took your shots, ideal for me when location hunting.Looking at the images using 6400 ISO they were as you would expect impressive.Would I recommend this camera, YES to anyone entering photography wanting a lot of the high end features or maybe as a second camera, perfectly ideal for events weddings etc.Body only expect to pay around £1800.With an app you can take full control of the camera remote, also transfer files to other compatible devices like printers and monitors or even other 6D's.Delivery's for pre-orders are on track for December.Canon 6D at Calumet

Saturday, 3 November 2012

Friday, 2 November 2012

Shoot it, retouch it, wetransfer it.Wetransfer was introduced to me by one the agency's I shoot for, with a 2GB transfer limit you can send individual and multiple files uploaded to the wetransfer server through your browser.You get an email confirming the upload was successful and another when those file/s have been downloaded.Having used this service for a while, which is FREE, thought to pass it on.Give it a try.. www.wetransfer.com